Man, I’m completely addicted to the stuff over at ThisNext blog. Today, I saw a picture *and recipe* for a meatloaf “cake”, frosted with mashed potatoes and decorated with ketchup, (a delicacy first conceived by the fine folks at the aptly named black widow bakery) and I figured it just needed to be posted.

Growing up in a vegetarian-leaning household, I’ve had limited exposure to American meat dishes, and somehow meatloaf has never been served. Luckily, Wikipedia has clued me in. Some of my favorite quotes/learnings from the site:

• During the Great Depression it was popular to add cereal grains to the meatloaf to stretch the meat

• Meatloaf has likely been around as long as ground meat

• Fish is used in a similar manner in Southeast Asian and Central American cuisines, where it is mixed with rice and baked in loaves.

• The dish can be considered Italian (it is a cousin to the meatball), Middle American, or even soul food.

• Because of the potential hodge-podge of ingredients, meatloaf is a popular food in comedy.